News written by Petteri Pyyny (January, 2026)

With its new robot vacuum, Roborock has solved what has long seemed like one of the last major challenges in robot vacuum development.

Unveiled today, the Roborock Saros Rover can actually climb stairs.

Over the years, several other companies have showcased various concepts of stair-climbing robot vacuums, but little has been heard of them beyond demo stages. Roborock's new model, however, is set to go on sale for real.

Saros Rover also stands apart from every other stair-climbing robot vacuum we've seen before in that it cleans the stairs while climbing them.

Rover's agility is not limited to stairs alone. The device operates on two wheeled legs that can freely extend and retract. Thanks to this design, the robot can also avoid obstacles on the floor, climb over thresholds, and free itself from various types of jams.

Roborock says the Saros Rover is still in the development phase, and the exact launch date has yet to be confirmed.

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The Taiwanese electronics giant Asus is best known as a manufacturer of computers and PC components.

However, the company is also a smartphone maker - and has been producing phones for years. For a long time, Asus was effectively the only major brand still making compact smartphones. Its last small Android phone, the Zenfone 10, received high praise from various reviewers - but apparently didn't sell well enough.

Now, though, the company appears to be pulling back from the smartphone business - at least temporarily.

According to DigiTimes sources, Asus does not plan to release any new smartphone models during 2026. The company has not said it is exiting the phone business entirely, but for now, nothing new is expected this year.

Asus has, in any case, become a marginal player in the smartphone market over the years. The company already scaled back its lineup in the late 2010s, narrowing its focus to two product categories: compact flagship phones (Zenfone) and gaming-focused smartphones (ROG Phone).

Even those lines have since been wound down. Asus discontinued compact phones after the Zenfone 10, and the most recent ROG Phone gaming handset was launched in early 2025 -- nearly a year ago.

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